Luffy's Devil Fruit may be One Piece's only unaffected by this weakness (& Gear 5 is why)

Modified Apr 17, 2025 01:30 GMT

One Piece's overall story contains several layers built through decades of storytelling. While the numerous power systems introduced in the series hold considerable influence, seastone and the seas have been the most consistent deterrent to any and all devil fruit abilities.

While Luffy's devil fruit is heralded as one of the strongest devil fruits within the story, with its main ability being akin to reality manipulation, it too is neutralized in the presence of seastones and water.

While there have been no concrete proofs or indications of Luffy overcoming this weakness common to all devil fruits, given his end goal of achieving freedom, he might undo the seas' curse to achieve true freedom since Gear 5 embodies the essence of freedom.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series.

One Piece: The sea will be Luffy's final hurdle before achieving complete freedom

Luffy as shown in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Luffy's entire journey began from the Foosha Village after having eaten a recently plundered Gomu Gomu no Mi. While the earlier episodes mainly focused on Shanks passing on his straw hat to Luffy, subtle hints in the dialogue reveal the ability to swim and its importance in Luffy's eventual goal of achieving freedom.

The earlier chapters go on to emphasize that being a pirate requires one to have many skills, including swimming, which serves as a basic means of survival. Unfortunately, Luffy's inability to swim becomes permanent following his consumption of a devil fruit. Shanks also lost his arm in an attempt to save Luffy, a situation that is partly manifested due to Luffy's inability to swim.

Gol D. Roger as shown in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Future chapters also focused on Luffy's inability to take any action to save Ace and escape Impel Down due to the presence of the sea. Both the Roger Pirates and Red-Haired Pirates had almost no devil fruit users, clearly establishing the message that they can swim and not be subjected to the whims of the sea.

Monkey D. Luffy himself expressed time and time again how he will be the sole individual to decide the place of his death while emphasizing his goal to become the freest man on the seas. Similarly, even the Harley texts mention how the sea god apparently activated a curse upon the death and desecration of the sun god.

Moreover, the sea's overall role as an obstacle for Luffy and a limit to his hypothetical freedom will need to be addressed before he achieves his idea of a Pirate King. It is possible that Luffy's endeavor towards achieving true freedom, alongside his status as the sun god, will eventually undo the curse that apparently infests the seas. This may realize the fated "meeting" that has been talked about in Harley Texts.

Final Thoughts

Loki as shown in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

One Piece chapter 1146 will be released on April 20, 2025, and will mainly focus on continuing the war initiated by the Holy Knights on the giants. Given that Loki's role as an antagonist is yet to be completely decided upon, future chapters will reveal his stance against the entire situation.

Related links-

About the author

Anupam is an anime and manga writer at Sportskeeda. Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Logistics & Transportation, Anupam has simultaneously gained professional experience of almost 2 years as a content writer, having worked previously for Otakukart and Sportslumo.

Being part of the anime fandom for over a decade, Anupam believes his greatest strength lies in theorycrafting around animanga series and predicting their plots. His personal experiences have guaranteed him detailed knowledge about the reputation, reception, and plot points of several anime, which he combines with extensive research to report on a topic. They have also taught him the significance of respecting and accurately reporting on community sentiments attached to a particular series, which has now become a non-negotiable part of his writing process.

Anupam’s favorite artist is video game designer Hideo Kojima, whose ability to nonchalantly embed deep messages in his games he deeply admires. When not debating fresh anime theories, Anupam can be found reading or playing combat games.

Know More

Edited by Somava